The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-09-15
A Day and Night in the MISSISSIPPI
Swamp.
Written for the GOLD LEAF.l
BY A. HATCHETT.

It was on the roth day of Septem
her. 1870. that | reached Vicksburg,
Miss. and as the water was too low
for the Sunnower boats to make trips, !
| had either to stay there or 90 to my |
destination, Rolling Fork, on horse |
back. Purchasing a prairie pony from
Leonard & Bro, my friend (who had
succeeded in Borrowing one) and l
started through the swamp for a trip
of ffty-fve miles. For the first ten
miles the country was settled and there
were roads, but after crossing the
Yazoo, at Haines' Bluff, for a distance
of twenty miles the only scmblance OF
a travelling place was a narrow tran
over which for the greater part OF the
distance the tall cane was Tapped above
our heads, shutting out the glare of
the sun. There was no danger OF
getting lost-we couldn't have gotten
out of the trail had we wanted-So
dense was the cane. About 3 P. m,
we struck the opening on Silver creek
and beheld 4 nevcrtO- be- tOr9Otten
sight-the Hill plantations, upon which
there was a continuous field Of cotton
seven miles long by about one and a
half wide, averaging about six feet IN
height and white as the driven snow.
Passing through this, We followed UP
Little Deer creek to the Lopez place
where we halted for the night. Lopez
was an old East Indian, a politlca
refugee from the land of his birth, who
with true hospitality invited us to share
fare he would not have given his slaves
in East India. Twas my first nigh
in the swamp, and could have theI
mounted the enchanted horse ant
been transported to the red valley
and rocky hills OF old Virginia,
would have been my last. Our bill @
fare was unique: First a "gig8er" c
race horse whiskey sweetened wit
sorghum Juice, next picked porE
fried, with corn bread made {
moulded meal and SO coarse it cracke
open like a baked brick, third an
lastly, coffee in a tin cup, 50 hot 20
could not hold it in your hand, wit
some hard &" tack" made during tt
war. All the time we were eating tt
myriads of mosquitoes were zooln
around our heads making more mus
than twenty eolian harps, but calllr
forth very different comments. 500
after supper, tired and worn out WI
fifty mile ride through tangled vim
and fallen cane, we went to bed, b
not to sleep; tor while protected
some measure from the mosquitoes
net, there were other comrades tn
made war upon our hides. Th
didn't sing like the mosquito, but tn
made up for the lack of sound by t
most villiar Gus ''smelr' that ever {
Tended the sleepy traveller. The Sou
is the very home of the Chinch, al
being in one OF the first houses bu
in this section, before we had clos
our ewes, from every crack and crew
they came pouring down upon us
thick as ants leaving their nest.
was impossible to avoid them. |
tobacco smoke with which we h
filled the room before retiring, for
benefit of our musical friends, seen
but a bait to lure them on, WI
neither net, clothing, nor our impre
tions long and loud, impeded tt
snake-like crawl over our heat-swati
bodies. Unable to bear the tort
on the lei, aro.e, put four chairs
gether in the middle of the room, {
stretched myself across them in
vain hope that they would lie salts
with the carcass of my friend on
bed. had closed my eyes and got
in the confines Of sweet sleeps te
tory, when l was reused by the era
ing of hundreds OF the things over
face and everywhere else. Whe
they climbed the chair post, or
wall, and then dropped on me /
never known to this day, but they
there all the same.